tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post3112272795553423481..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: You couldn't make this upUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-58383796666671312262009-11-24T16:29:59.085-05:002009-11-24T16:29:59.085-05:00I seem to remember a James Ellroy story with Frank...I seem to remember a James Ellroy story with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., going to Mexico and things, "careened out of control."<br /><br />Last year I worked on a TV show and sometimes I felt like some of the material I was giving to the producers was like giving kids matches to play with -- but books are different, right?John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-72392192472664813902009-11-24T16:28:46.531-05:002009-11-24T16:28:46.531-05:00Good replies on here. Thought provoking answers.
...Good replies on here. Thought provoking answers.<br /><br />I've asked these questions not because i have a fully formed opinion, but precisely because i don't. interesting to see other peoples takes.<br /><br />As John said, everyone has to draw their own lines to draw up. And Mike raises a crucial addition in James Ellroy.<br /><br />I think, maybe, my personal line might be forming somehwere between Ellroy and Peace. Using people who are long dead is one thing, but using people who have died within recent memory raises a few doubts. That would suggest there is some distinction; that people long dead belong to history and can be toyed with, but people with living spouses or children still have a place in the minds of those surviving relatives.<br /><br />Or maybe slightly different; maybe it's just down to the author to recognise there is some form of responsibility. What i mean is; if you want to use someone in your fiction then go ahead. But be prepared to accept responsibility if you hurt somebody.<br /><br />I don't know, i'm still trying to form an opinion.Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-31098916515567306852009-11-24T16:15:47.401-05:002009-11-24T16:15:47.401-05:00I agree with John; this is a very good discussion....I agree with John; this is a very good discussion. It's a topic not frequently brought up.<br /><br />If a person is still alive, I would feel uneasy writing something that puts him in a bad light unless it were absolutely 100% true, AND if that truth was widely known.<br /><br />For deceased people, it's a different story. James Ellroy, for example, has used dead celebrities in his novels (Sal Mineo, Steve Cochran, Ida Lupino, Spade Cooley, and others), drawing the seediest possible portrayals of them. I asked him about this and he replied that if they're dead, you can say just about anything.<br /><br />I would tend to go along with that, but without letting things careen out of control.Mike Dennishttp://mikedennisnoir.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-71616725795717955512009-11-24T15:51:18.054-05:002009-11-24T15:51:18.054-05:00I often feel irresponsible when I use events from ...I often feel irresponsible when I use events from the lives of friends/family. But really, you can't make some of the stuff up. And my husband's family has been the source of many stories. He doesn't usually mind as long as I don't name names. As far as adhering to the facts, sometimes you have to discard some of them. Reality can be too much for the story and for them. I don't think I would invent something for a real person unless it was tongue in cheek or clear I was doing it.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-3735367265536818462009-11-24T13:43:33.946-05:002009-11-24T13:43:33.946-05:00Crime fiction rooted in "real world crime&quo...Crime fiction rooted in "real world crime" is the clear connection here, but I'd be sci-fi writers have similar concerns. And writers of historical romance.<br /><br />But we're a special lot.<br /><br />For LOST AND FOUND, I used a real event in the real recent history of the real Shreveport, La, the book's setting. People died. Real people. So how much do you mess around with the actual events?<br /><br />Is it fair to the people involved to just make up your own changes?<br /><br />Is it fair to really depict their actual deaths?<br /><br />Tough things to think about.<br /><br />I think Russel has mentioned this elsewhere, as well. When he's writing nice stuff, he uses the real place. When he's writing about something nasty, he changes the place to fictionalize it. I understand that.Steve Weddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03876211586767139613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-51932775096544817462009-11-24T10:13:53.965-05:002009-11-24T10:13:53.965-05:00Is the term ‘fiction’ a free pass to invent and ad...<i>Is the term ‘fiction’ a free pass to invent and adapt even if you’re using real people?</i><br /><br />Good question. It used to be the names wee changed but everybody knew who it really was, so maybe this is just the natural next step.<br /><br />These days, I'm not sure you can say that, "the reality of a man and his private life is something only his family can know." More and more people live their private lives fully in public. Some of what the writer adds is speculation, sure, but it's usually not too far out.<br /><br />David Simon's issue with the young woman watching a fiction about her parent is a real issue, I think. Tragedy pulls unwilling people into public view (unlike managing Leeds United which is still a voluntary position, isn't it?) and often that increases their tragedy. People will justify it in all kinds of ways, that using this story to inform greater numbers of people will help, blah, blah, blah - I don't buy it.<br /><br />Writing fiction isn't charity and it isn't social work. <br /><br />Each witer is going to find their own line they won't cross, but it's good to have this discussion.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-80226937968171307902009-11-24T09:50:46.136-05:002009-11-24T09:50:46.136-05:00I think if the author is going to use real people,...I think if the author is going to use real people, there's a certain obligation to adhere pretty much to facts, especially if the person is still alive. It's easy enough to make up a character based on a real person. That character can then do whatever the story needs, no harm done.<br /><br />I sometimes use anecdotes of real people, usually criminals, in my writing. They're always dead, and I have a factual basis for what I have them do, unless it's an innocuous conversation or event. No one's reputation or family is hurt if I say Sam Giancana and Tony Accardo each used to run Chicago's Outfit, and no one really cares if I create a scene where Accardo gives a young hood some help or advice.<br /><br />There are libel laws, but, beyond them, there is fairness and good taste. Not everyone will be pleased, but I wouldn't go out of my way to possibly offend someone, either.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-43051988948698006142009-11-24T05:55:56.618-05:002009-11-24T05:55:56.618-05:00Good point. Unless there's another reason why ...Good point. Unless there's another reason why Peace lives in a foreign country...Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-41421117913530796352009-11-24T05:39:43.829-05:002009-11-24T05:39:43.829-05:00Similarly, what about Roberto Saviano's Gomorr...Similarly, what about Roberto Saviano's Gomorrah? That's also some hybrid of fiction and non, and Saviano's in hiding most of the time. At least Babs Clough never put a price on Peace's head.Ray Bankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04981352396421812729noreply@blogger.com